Far-right Israeli minister calls for ‘gradual annexation’ of Gaza

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Thursday for imposing a complete blockade to “starve and dehydrate Hamas fighters to death” and “gradually annex” parts of the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at a press conference, Smotrich outlined what he called his “victory plan for Gaza.” He said the Israeli military should declare Gaza City and central refugee camps as combat zones, leaving only Hamas fighters inside “to die from hunger and thirst,” the daily Israel Hayom reported.

The plan, he said, would give Hamas a final ultimatum to surrender under Israeli conditions or face “a strong and swift military operation” to destroy its remaining armed units.

Smotrich said the strategy requires “civilian decisiveness,” including cutting Hamas off from funding and its civilian base by placing all humanitarian aid under Israeli control.

The extremist minister also called for the “gradual annexation” of Gaza and the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians outside the enclave.

Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism Party, claimed that the measures were necessary “for Israel’s security, the future of its children, and for Jews and the Western world as a whole.”

Israel has killed at least 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.